


Ohana

by nushiewrites



Category: Sanders Sides
Genre: Angst, Gen, Prince Angst specifically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-05
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-10-15 00:12:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10546730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nushiewrites/pseuds/nushiewrites
Summary: Prince is tired. He feels like a failure to Thomas, and Logan and Anxiety are only there to make it worse. What will become of Roman?





	1. El Principe es Estupido

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I'm trying my hand out at a multi-chaptered fic. It's also angsty. I mean It isn't very angsty right now, but it'll get worse.  
> [Read it on tumblr](https://the-sanders-sides.tumblr.com/tagged/ohana)
> 
> Username change from my_emo_shipper_soul to nushiewrites

Prince was literally bruised from Thomas’s audition gone wrong. His torso looked as though he had been beaten up and moving hurt so much. Thankfully, he wasn’t human, so instead of taking weeks to heal these injuries, it would only take until Thomas started feeling better about himself, which was going to be tricky since Prince was incapacitated at the moment and Morality was helping him out. This left the Logic and Anxiety. Logic, could not deal with emotions, so that left Anxiety, who somehow had to give Thomas a good self-esteem, which is quite opposite of what Anxiety could do, and Prince understood that. So Prince thought that until something positive happened to Thomas, Prince would be stuck like this.

But thankfully, somehow, Anxiety and Logic were able to make Thomas (and Prince) see that the audition really wasn’t that bad, and he recovered. However, even though he listened to all the facts Logic said, and all the things he countered Anxiety with, Prince still felt like a complete failure. He may have gotten better physically, but not emotionally. And now, while everyone had sunken down into to Thomas’s mind palace, Prince started mindlessly walking towards the commons as he was thinking awful thoughts. “How unlike Peter Pan”, he flatly chuckled to himself. _He_ was creativity, he should’ve been able to remember the song, and tell it to Thomas as Thomas forgot it. He wasn’t going to be Thomas’s hero anymore, not after that. Prince was completely paranoid and self-conscious again that he was going to be replaced. He wouldn’t have as big of a role in Thomas’s videos and life. He wouldn’t be helping Thomas anymore, Logic would do that, he was much better at it too! And Prince would, Prince would- Prince would sigh, and he did. _Is this what Anxiety always feels like? Poor guy_ \- and as he thought that, Prince slammed into the glass door at the entrance of the commons. Prince must’ve been so caught up in his thoughts, he didn’t realize where he going.

He shook himself out his reverie and noticed how Anxiety and Logan were on the sofa together and how Anxiety burst out laughing and Logic chuckled lightly when he walked into the door. Prince didn’t even know why he walked here, and he didn’t have the emotional fortitude for mockery from those two right now. He decided on walking in, getting an ice cold glass of water to clear his mind, and walk out.

As he walked in he found Anxiety laughing, but this time at something different. Logic said something in a different language and Prince only caught the ending “és tonto.” Prince didn’t really care and shrugged it off as walked behind them towards the sink. That was when could make out Anxiety whispering something to Logic (Prince couldn’t quite tell what was being said), and Logic responding with, “El principe es estupido.” Prince immediately turned on his heel to face them. If they were going to say that, than why in Spanish, and not in whatever other language Logic was speaking earlier? The others knew he was perfectly fluent in Spanish, and yet they pull this stuff on him.

“¿Qué es tu problema, Logan?” Prince snapped at him.

Anxiety asked Logan, “What did he just say?” and Logan responded with a confused look and said, “You know I’ve only been learning _that_ phrase in a multitude of languages, not anything else yet.”

Prince sighed once more, but this time it was filled with anger. “I said, ‘What is your problem, Logan?’ I already know I’m stupid for failing Thomas like that in his audition; I don’t need you rubbing it in, Mr. Favorite Side.”

This only made Anxiety burst out into laughter even more than before. “Oh my gosh, Logan, did you hear him?” Logan nodded and gave out a small chuckle. “I do not want to deal with you today.” Prince glared at the pair, forgetting about the water he wanted for calming down, and walked back to his room.


	2. Fixer Upper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long. don't write multiple chaptered fics at once kiddos

Prince got back to his room, closed the door, and banged his head against the wall repeatedly. Those two hated him, and he knew it. Roman knew why Anxiety and he got into so many quarrels. Their jobs worked against each other. Roman, aside from being creativity, was Thomas’s ego. Roman had to manage Thomas’s self-confidence and Anxiety had to give reason to every possibility of why they failed something or why they weren’t as good as they thought to avoid Thomas being too full of himself, as that could lead to social death.  

 What Prince didn’t understand was Logan. They had at least been civil to each other before, but now? What did he do to screw up so badly? What did Prince need to fix?  Logan was making fun of him too now! And to make things worse, he decided to join in _now_. Now, when he was already at a pretty low point because of the audition. He groaned and flopped onto his bed. He had to fight their words, and their insults. He had to brandish his sword and slice those jibes apart, otherwise could happen to Thomas?

Prince promptly sat up in an “Aha!” moment. _I know why he joined in! I’m being too confident or Anxiety doesn’t have the strength to always battle for control over confidence and needs help!_ “Yes, that’s it! So, I just need to tone myself down to make it easier for Anxiety, and everything will go back to normal!” As Roman spoke his voice shook so imperceptibly that he himself would not have noticed it, but it was caused by a thought that tickled the back of his mind. _I know that’s not what is happening. If I lie to myself, it will be bad._ “Yes it will, but I might as well try to fix myself. It could work, my answer could be right. I’ll only find out in a matter of time!” _Don’t do it, everything will be worse. You don’t need to fix anything-_ Roman pushed the thought away. He needed this, the sooner he did this, the sooner the balance they had in the mindscape before would be restored. So he took off his sash, and put on a less flashy white button up shirt. He watched himself as he walked to the commons for the water he had previously wanted, and made sure his movements weren’t too big, his voice too loud, or himself too dramatic. As he walked in, he saw Anxiety there again, laughing so hard he was out of breath, all while trying to cover his mouth. He heard Logan speaking more in Spanish, but this time, he wouldn’t do anything. This time he was just going to let it happen. This way it would be easier for Anxiety to counteract him _and so they won’t get the rise out of me they want._ Roman mumbled under his breath, “No, get it together, Anxiety’s having a tough time, I’m helping him.” _~~Helping him, or changing myself so they can’t be so awful. Whatever, they’re synonymous.~~ _ “They aren’t bothering me, if I let their insults get to me I’ll never be the ego Thomas needs.” Prince finally got to the water he had been craving for so long, and gulped it down, but as he was halfway through the glass, Logan walked passed him and ~~shoved~~ _No, he bumped into me, on accident! They don’t hate me, Why in the world would they hate me?_ Logan walked passed him and bumped into Roman, so he dropped the glass and it shattered. “Tú no deberías ser tan torpe.…,” Logan said disdainfully. _Who is he to tell me I ‘shouldn’t be so clumsy’! He’s the one who bumped into me!_ But, Prince kept a façade on the outside, “Heh, yeah, I guess I need a better grip on the cup!” Roman shot a bright smile as he spoke, and cleaned up the shards of the glass.


	3. Self-effacing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey just a quick announcement, in between the last chapter and this one, i changed my username from "my_emo_shipper_soul" to "nushiewrites"
> 
> chapter edit: this chapter was previously titled "Complacency" i realized it does not mean what i thought it meant so i changed it

 After cleaning up the glass, Roman walked back to his room. When he got there, he shut the door, started pacing around the room, and let his creative gears turn.

Roman started muttering to himself, “So I must lessen the ego… lessen the ego… how do I lessen the ego? Well, lessening the ego is part of Anxiety’s job, and I’m supposed make it be as grand as it can be. But Anxiety isn’t able to do his job by himself anymore, for I’ve been too much. Anxiety must’ve gotten help from Logan, for Logan wouldn’t be callous towards me just for the sake of being callous towards me.. He doesn’t hate me. I know he doesn’t hate me, there _is_ reason for this. Nevertheless, Anxiety should be able to do this job on his own, so I need to tone it down. I already tried not being so flamboyant, but that’s not working. What else can I do… What else can I do… C’mon! I’m creativity! I should be able to figure this out!? I could be more self-effacing. Perhaps, I must also start thinking differently? I guess I could think more negatively, so whenever I unconsciously think something too egotistical, I could consciously correct myself. Hmm… yes, this could work... Right so now all I have to do is try doing these things when interacting with other sides. Back to the commons it is!”

+

Roman walked through the door of the commons and saw Patton cooking, Logan reading on the couch, and Virgil near him scrolling through Tumblr. Patton saw Roman enter and exclaimed, “Hey there, Roman!”

As roman walked over to the kitchen area, he noticed Virgil nudging Logan and saying something hushed to the logical side. Roman didn’t dwell on that interaction, and instead replied, “Hello Patton. How has your day been?”

“Wow, you actually care about someone else’s day other than your own?” Virgil said, rolling his eyes.

“C’mon Virgil, play nice,” said Patton, as he used his stern dad look.

“Yeah, sorry or whatever,” huffed Virgil.

“…thanks,” Roman said dryly.

“No creo que seas lo suficientemente inteligente para entender, así que te lo explicaré. Virgil no quería decir esa disculpa. La única razón de su disculpa fue apaciguar a Patton”

“Yo sé… uh gracias por decir eso en caso de que no sé.” Roman grimaced.  He desperately wanted to quip back to Logan, but he had to try to remain self-effacing.

“Ooooh, Logan you know Spanish too now? That’s awesome! Guys, guys, am I saying this right: la biblioteca?”

“Yeah, it’s perfect Patton,” Roman said in an uncheerful tone as he decided upon leaving the room. Roman felt quite agitated at Logan. _‘I don’t think you’re smart enough to understand, so I’ll explain. Virgil didn’t mean his apology. The only reason he apologized was to appease Patton.’ Of course I know that! I really wish I wasn’t trapped in this need to make the ego smaller so I could say something other than ‘I know… uh thanks for telling me in case I didn’t know.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, i finally updated. that took... a while. im planning on updating this more often so yeah.


	4. ...means family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg! it's the last chapter!

Roman kept continuing following his rules for lessening the ego: don’t be flamboyant, be self-effacing, and think negatively. However, Logan’s ~~scathing~~ _necessary_ comments didn’t seem like they were starting to stop at all.  So, Roman just enforced his ego lessening more and more and more. Keeping this up for as long as he was took a toll on Roman. He wasn’t himself anymore. He would shrink into himself a little when someone would talk to him. He wouldn’t speak as much anymore. And if Logan or Virgil ever insulted him, he would just shrug and silently agree. Because they were right. He was awful. He was a disgrace. He was stupid.

+

“What is up everybody? So lately, I haven’t been feeling very good about myself. It-”

“Well, maybe the ego should go do something about it. That is, if he can even handle doing such a simple task,” Logan said as he popped up, cutting Thomas off. Virgil popped up after that solely to high five Logan for his comment.

Next, Patton popped up speaking in his authoritative dad voice, “You two shouldn’t be so harsh. I’m sure Roman is trying his hardest. Roman?” 

Virgil looked apologetic as Roman popped up and said, “You called me Patton?”

“Yeah! I did!” Patton giggled.

“Patton was going to ask if you’re actually trying to do your job and be a good self-esteem, si puedes entender eso.”

_‘If I can understand that’! How dare he insult me in such a way?! No, no. He’s right. He was just… trying to look out for me. In case I didn’t understand. That’s it.  And he probably did some nerd stuff to guess that I probably wouldn’t understand, since I’m, well, me._

“I’ve been trying my hardest, but what I’m doing doesn’t seem to be working,” Roman said finally.

“Obviously what you’ve been doing hasn’t been working. Try again.”

“I’m trying to do what you’ve been wanting me to do Logan, but I just- I can’t.”

“What I’ve been wanting you to do? What are you even talking about Roman?”

“It’s obvious you and Virgil have been needing me to be less egotistical.”

Virgil spoke this time, “What are you on about Roman? Why would we even need that from you?”

“Roman thinks your mean to him for a reason, even though I’ve told you to stop!” Patton shouted. Thomas, Virgil, and Logan looked at Patton with confusion, so he continued, “Ya know, cuz he and Virgil have gotta keep each other in check, since Roman’s supposed ta be egotistical and Verge has ta bring Thomas down. So now that Logan’s joined in with Virgil to be just awful to Roman, he thinks it’s for a reason, so he’s trying to fix that reason! Right, Roman?”

“Yes. You are correct,” Roman supplied. He was starting to feel a tad nervous as he realized he may have been wrong this entire time. Man, he really was stupid, wasn’t he?

“What’s the reason, Roman?” Virgil asked apprehensively.

“The reason is that Logan is helping you contain my egotisticalness because I’ve been too much for you to handle on your own. So I thought that if I lessened myself you both would be able to go back to doing your proper jobs,” Roman glanced at Logan and said quietly, “I guess I really am stupid if I got to that conclusion.”

“Roman, noooo, my poor extra son!” Patton cried.

“I- I’m alright Patton,” Roman said softly, his voice lacking any grandeur.

“No. Roman, you are not okay. You have stated a self-deprecating comment which is something the ego should never do. I realize this has been my fault and I am expressing an apologetic tone so you know that I am very sorry you were inane enough to believe that fallacy.”

Thomas looked at Logan incredulously and was about to speak when Virgil cut him off.

“Logan! That’s just going too far. Even I know that. C’mon dude, our resident extra is feeling bad about himself and you throw in an underhanded insult in your apology? What are you even thinking?”

“That was a genuine apology. I really am sorry that Roman is having a point of low self-esteem and that he could not understand that I was mean without a reason,” Logan paused and his eyes widened, “Oh. Now I understand. I guess I was the true dolt in this situation.”

“It’s okay Logan. I don’t think you were in the wrong here, but ‘twas I. Even if it wasn’t for a reason, everything you said was true. I’m too _me_ ,” Roman said in sad tone that didn’t fit him too well

“That is impossible. You need to be as yourself as possible to be the best side you can be for Thomas. I should not have made you feel any other way. It was I who messed with optimum for Thomas.  I… made a mistake.”

“Well ya surely aren’t makin an infinitesimal amount of mistakes, Logan,” Patton said with his goofy voice.

“N- not the time Patton,” Thomas said shaking his head, “Any other time but now, buddy.”

“Well, a cheesy lesson for your videos can be learned from all of this: bullying is wrong,” Virgil suddenly grew more anxious as he tried to spit something out, “ _AndI’mVerySorryRomanForNotDoingAnythingAndBeingABystanderWeKnowHowOurRelationshipWorksAndWeTalkedAboutItButIShouldn’tHaveEncouragedLogan_.”

“And as Verge just put it you guys,” Thomas said talking to the camera, “Being a bystander is just as bad as being a bully. Don’t be afraid to take action and tell someone to stop. ”

“And I have to sincerely apologize to you Roman. I should have realized that my treatment of you was not good. I failed and I will somehow make it up to you, starting by helping you restore your former confidence and mannerisms. Well the mannerisms aren’t gone; you’re just hiding yourself—in a shell so to speak. So, I want to be able to help you get out of that shell, if you’ll let me.

“Roman! You’re family too! Did you know that? Did ya?” Patton asked.

“Oh yeah,” Virgil chuckled, “You are. We were all on the card, minus Thomas, so does that mean Thomas isn’t fa-”

“DON’T YOU DARE FINISH THAT SENTENCE, MY DARK SON! I think I need to go make a new card...,” And with that Patton sunk out.

“I-I’m gonna go check on him, and make sure he doesn’t get hurt,” Virgil said as he sunk out

Logan tacitly acknowledged their departure and turned back to Roman as he talked. “Family is a big part of the animation by Disney that we are all passionate about, but you the most Roman. They directly state it in one film, _Lilo and Stitch_ with the word Ohana.”

“Ohana means family. And family means no one gets left behind or forgotten,” Roman said, still talking quietly despite everything.

“And I should have strove to make you feel included and like family, so to speak, instead of what I did. I will do better, and if I do not, then get yourself away from me because it will be detrimental to you, and I do not want that to happen to you: no one does. We all wish the best for you Roman, and we all care about you so very much.” Logan shapeshifted and passed through the invisible column to place an awkward yet comforting hand on Roman’s face. “This is how reassurance through physical contanct is done, correct?”

Roman softly chuckled. “Not quite, but I appreciate the effort. I’m… gonna go check on Virgil and Patton. So if you don’t mind me-” Roman said as he moved away from Logan and sunk out.

Logan turned to Thomas and smiled. “I made him laugh a little. That should help him,” he said as he sunk out.

“Well you heard it folks. Ohana means family. Take care of your family: your blood family and you chosen one. Make sure they’re okay, and that no one is hurting them. Remind them that they’re no forgotten and that they won’t be forgotten. That’s it, and until next time, take it easy guys, gals, and nonbinary pals. Peace out!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow so i finally got this done with my erratic updating. i am so glad tbh i thought i was never gonna finish this. this cpater took me so long from trying to get logans apology right and im actually glad for once i took so long because it came out just how i wanted it to! i hope yall enjoyed this lil story and have a nice rest of your lives!

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I hope you like it so far. I'll update whenever I can!


End file.
